Album Notes

Raymond Jones’ solo piano project So Amazing (songs from the Luther Vandross Songbook) was released in 2005. Its genesis began when Vandross (an old friend from the Chic days) was signed to J Records. Jones was contacted by J Records to play songs recorded by Vandross in a solo piano setting at a press party for Vandross at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Raymond compiled upwards of 20 pieces for the event. In going through the material, he noted that there was a future recording project in the midst of this.

Putting that thought in the back of his mind, Jones proceeded to figure out what material would be appropriate for the presentation. Once the preparation was completed, Jones describes what happened next, “I found that I was moved by the compositions into another realm of interpretation that was way beyond cocktail or background music. I knew I wanted to record these pieces as a celebration of my buddy’s work and as my first recorded project of solo piano material.”

As fate would have it, within a few months, Vandross suffered a stroke. Jones put the So Amazing project on hold as he did not want to seem as if he were capitalizing on a friend’s illness. Yet and still he wanted to clear the decks of this music which was now a part of his musical psyche. On December 30th, 2004, Jones went into the Mad Hatter studios (now owned by the Church of Scientology) and played their 9’ Steinway grand piano (formerly owned by Chick Corea). Three hours later, the project was recorded. Between the night of Dec 31st 2004 and the early morning hours of Jan 1st 2005, Jones collated and edited the material and So Amazing was done.

Once Jones had committed to releasing the project to limited retail outlets and at live performances, Vandross took a turn for the worse and passed away. What originally was to be a celebration of a friend’s music became that as well as a final tribute.

Highlights include So Amazing, Brenda Russell’s composition If Only For One Night, a bebop interpretation of Killing Me Softly and an extended interpretation of Here and Now.